Our say: Oysters will be the big environmental fight when the General Assembly returns to Annapolis

Joshua McKerrow / Capital Gazette file

Thousands of oyster shells coated in spat are dropped from the deck of the Robert Lee into the Severn River west of the Naval Academy Bridge. The project is a cooperative effort between Severn River Association and the Oyster Recovery Project

Thousands of oyster shells coated in spat are dropped from the deck of the Robert Lee into the Severn River west of the Naval Academy Bridge. The project is a cooperative effort between Severn River Association and the Oyster Recovery Project (Joshua McKerrow / Capital Gazette file)

No doubt, some readers enjoyed a feast of this illustrious shellfish on Thanksgiving day, and from now until spring it will be consumed on the half-shell, roasted, stewed, frittered and fried to satisfy an appetite that has as more to do with tradition than availability at the market.

So, it is somewhat fitting that the next great debate over the future of the bay’s health began Thanksgiving week in Annapolis with the release of a long-anticipated survey of the oyster stock. The findings, to the surprise of absolutely no one, are not good.

The simplest of takeaways from the report presented Monday to the state Oyster Advisory Commission is that there are about 300 million market size oysters in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake. That’s half the population 20 years ago, when bay oysters began to vanish in the advance of two deadly diseases, declining water quality and a long history of overfishing.

There has been something of a rebound since then. Today’s population is about 100 million more than the lowest ebb. Some parts of the bay are doing better than others, with overfishing a problem in some areas and potential for growth in a few.

The 18-month survey, conducted by the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science, provides strong evidence for what groups such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation have long argued — it is past time for a fundamental change in the management of the state`s oyster fishery.

Over the last year, our series of stories Oysters on the Bay has examined efforts here and in other parts of the state to restore the population. From dockside gardeners to massive, federally funded reef projects, people clearly care about the future of this foundational species of the bay.

It’s not just the table fare that’s important. The oyster filters water as it lives its submarine life, and efforts to build oyster population in different watersheds are more about water quality than half-shell delights. Watermen, who have long been opposed to limiting harvests, are rightly concerned that any future management strategy may negatively affect the viability of their way of life.

The details of the oyster survey, mandated by the General Assembly, will now be built to management plans being developed by the Department of Natural Resources. By Dec. 1, these plans will be forwarded to the legislature for consideration during the session that begins in January.

Legislators will be asked to decide how Maryland should ensure the future of the oyster as a vital bay species in balance with that of families and businesses that still depend on its harvest.

There have been a handful of environmental fights in the past 30 years that have been turning points in the stewardship of Maryland`s natural resources: the Critical Areas Law, rockfish management and the fracking ban among them.